Intentional Stones

Winds of time

Nice dramatic title, eh?

The Wheel of Time books that I'm Still reading, (Yeah at just about 800pp per book and 13 books, it takes this slow reader a while.  Especially checking the Wheel of Time Wiki every time a character is mentioned, And listening to the podcasts a bunch of delightfully foul mouthed geeks are producing, spoilers abound, so if you're not up to date, don't go to either.  I'm a true geek.) start each story with the Wind.  The Wind is almost a character.  It carries the threads started in the prologue into the main part of the book.  A fun literary tool.  Especially when it clues in characters we've been wishing would get a clue.  Like a little gnat biting them.  Ok, maybe it just adds to the frustration.  But if I didn't love these characters, I wouldn't be on my 5th re-read of the series, nor would I be cheering on Brandon Sanderson to get the final book done. 

Anyway, the reason I mention all this, is that the past few months have flown by.

How does time do that?

Since starting the school year, on top of Show Season, on top of finishing the remodeling of the kitchen, on top of everything else, I haven't had time for anything.

I've been disappointed in the studio.  When ever I'm there, I can feel my skills growing and my work getting better!  But I can't spend nearly as much time down there as I'd like. 

I have a number of small commissions I picked up over the summer and fall that are nearly done, but they've been inching along!  (Thank you, if you're one of the people I owe work to.  I know you're looking forward to your pieces.  I wish I was working at any kind of decent pace.)  And I'm only barely making my deadlines.  I have been careful to explain to people that I'm severely limited in my work time, but it doesn't help me in feeling like I'm way too slow. And I have a big set I've been working on for months.  Since the beginning of the year.  That's still not done.  I work a little at a time and try to show my work when it's gotten somewhere.  And I just got a key to the biggest piece, so I hope to get a bunch done this weekend.  It's not that I'm not thinking about these things constantly, it's that I just can't find time to do everything!!!

There.

It's off my chest.

I'm terrible.

I'm not going to take any more commissions until the ones I have are done.  I'm hoping I can clear up 90% of them this weekend.  Putting them ahead of everything else. 

I'm certainly not making excuses.  Time is just moving way too fast lately.

-Simbelmynë

 

 

Monday Traffic

I figured it out a week ago, then the blog post was stale, now it's fresh again.

Mondays are like tunnel traffic. 

Living in Pittsburgh gives one a unique perspective on the concept of tunnels.  Tunnels and bridges are a way of life here.  There are something like 700 bridges and fewer tunnels, I've never counted.  But I live with a view of the Squirrel Hill tunnel.  It goes over 376, the main path from east to west through Pittsburgh.  When I first moved here, 12 years ago, I didn't understand why people don't like to cross town for gatherings, shops, events.  And then a few seasons of heavy construction on the bridges and tunnels showed me what it was. 

Tunnel traffic.

There's nothing quite like the psychological effect tunnels have.  Someone once told me that if the Squirrel Hill Tunnel was just 1 foot wider on each side, (East and Westbound each has it's own 2 lane tunnel), then the psychological effect of the tunnel would be lessened.  People automatically slow down when entering the tunnel.  There's a tendency for fender benders near and in it.  Most are very minor, but they can stop both lanes for a couple minutes at a time.  Stopping everyone else for 15-30 minutes.  And that's just for minor problems.

Construction is just that much more fun.  Removing lanes, putting up signs for slowdowns, rerouting exits (there's one right after the tunnel on either side).  It's all fun.

And on a busy summer weekend day, you can lose a huge chunk of your free time by braving these hazards.  Even I have started mentally assessing the construction situation before I commit to something across town.

My point, that I've gotten distracted from, is that Mondays are like my tunnels. 

Weekends are a time when I get to participate in a lot of my artistic pursuits.  I get to take classes, get together with friends, family, fellow artists, go shopping and hunting for materials in other ways.  I get to recharge. 

I also get to spend free time with my family, I get more rest.  I'm generally reenergized when Monday morning comes. 

I wake up and I feel like I could do anything.  Get through the school day, take on 2 new projects as well as finish all the old ones.  Clean up the house.  Have a great time. 

By noon, I realize that it's just like every other weekday.  School is hard work and it's using up all my energy.  Jewelry and household projects are going to need more than I have left at the end of the day.  And every day things like cooking, cleaning up after ourselves and keeping myself fit and healthy are going to take up even more of that energy.   The rest of the day is spent in that weirdly lighted, tightly enclosed space where if anything happened, I wouldn't be able to back out and I'd be stuck there forever. 

Every week.

I need some kind of alternate route through Monday.

Any ideas?

-Simbelmynë

 

Dragonfly

This piece turned into a crazy interjection of heavy and lightweight elements.  The assignment "necklace with a forged element" really seemed hard to me.  It was an assignment for Jewelry Making I.

I like to make delicate things- bubbles, bugs, chain...  But the shapes you get forging wire-long and thin, pointed pieces, weren't speaking to me.  All I could think of was hooks and curves, and those are fine as part of a necklace or bracelet, but not as a focal componant. 

And then the dragonfly idea struck me.  Forging a piece of grass, the long spindly tail of the bug, the legs.  Perfect. 

I started having so much fun I forged out the clasp as well!  And it all balances the heavy metal with delicate light elements. 

For class I've been working to challenge myself.  Not only to learn each technique as thoroughly as possible, but to encorporate as many techniques into each project as possible. 

Turns out this philosophy is crazy.

The extra parts- the chain, endcaps, intricate cut work wings-those took up time and when I hit a snag-getting all those pieces soldered together almost ended everything.  A bit of the tail burned off, I slightly damaged the wings.  Fortunately, the benefit of working on it for class, I could take it to my teacher, repeatedly, and she helped me get it down and all of the damage was repairable. 

I've got several potential designs that spring from this one.  Yay for education!

-Simbelmynë

 

Catching Up To Do

Everything's been going simultaneously and it seems like it's all paused.  Woven chain was a big hit with family this holiday season and I'm about to start on project number 3!  I've been working constantly on these: 

The amazing learning experience necklace!  I love the result, it will be a special item only concept.  Azurinte malachite pendant and lapis, malachite and black tourmaline on the chain. 

This one is fairly simple, a thin chain with Botsana Agate pendant.  I just have a couple of findings to complete. 

The last will require increases in the chain, so I'll have to do a practice version.

I feel soooooo slow!

Lemons and Lemonade

 

That soldering thing I was nervous about? 

It didn't go well.

I reforged the body of the dragonfly.

Packed the whole thing up and I'm going to ask for help once I get to class. Hopefully, the teacher will be able to get this whole mess together. 

It's learning, I just need to be patient.

Crafting month is getting away from us!

It's like I just blinked and it's almost gone! 

Working madly to get ready for the show, as I've mentioned, at this point I need to be making more basic items- pendants, more simple necklaces to put them on, earrings, stuff like that.  I spent yesterday taking pictures, discussing the website with Mina, makign more earring leaves and finishing my table linens for the show.  I should start making daily to do lists and small goals again.  Ugh.  Photos exist, when I have time I'll upload them!

Halloween, on Sunday, marks the last day of crafting month and time to turn to NaNoWriMo.  I should say NaNFWriMo for me, even if there's another official version of this I'm going to piggy back on NaNo for non-fiction.  (I really need writing buddies, so add me over there!  I'm the Pagan Librarian)  I'll be working on the gemstone reference page.  I'm going to work in book form and try to update here one entry at a time.  Like NaCra I know I'll get behind keeping you up to date.  Please keep being patient with me!

I hope your holiday seasons are ready to kick off on Sunday!

-Simbelmynë

 

Behind on the Runway

Clearly I would have been out weeks ago. (If I were the brave kind of person who'd try out for a reality show)

We've been watching, thinking and sketching.  At the party store (episode 3 season 8) I would be going the direction the winner went.  Paper!  Though I'd be into the confetti too:

Making beads isn't something I've tried, but I'm an old hand with paper and adhesives.  Laminating layers of color together would make a fun bead.  Including confettin in the mix would give it the necessary bling factor. 

Or I could use confetti as beads to sparkle things up.  Our party store also had statuary and trinket gifts.  Lots of fun just taken apart to be focal elements.

Episode 4's hats struck a real cord with me.  I started making jewelry because of masks, and maskmaking and haberdashery are close cousins.  There are so many fabulous hats to look at on the web.  I found a stunning flock of butterflies -shall we pretend this hat is my choice?  

I would look to the flowers.  Milkweed.  Dangling earrings or a necklace with a cluster of blossoms.

The last episode we worked on is the Team Challenge, Episode 5.  A major exercize in collaboration.  Each team was instructed to create a line of 6 looks that go together.   It turned out that the teams had different levels of success, in fact one team was really successful and the other almost completely failed.  The difference came from respect.  One team, the underdogs, was able to respect one another and keep lines of communication open, while the other, the team with 4 challenge winners, could not manage even a little bit of respect and tried to pin all of their failures on one team member.  It was sad.

Mina and I are very much thinking about collaboration lately.  Mina gave me this sketch:

An idea she had, inspired by the lovely mother of pearl art nouveau necklace. It seems quite doable.  We discussed shapes and available stones and means of attaching this focal piece to a necklace with chain and beads.  I only hope I can do justice to her design and that my knowledge of construction can make her vision possible.  One thing that helps me be confident in our success is Mina and I respect one another's talants and we can communicate very well about design and changes. 

-Simbelmynë

West Virginia Loves Us!

Intentional Stones will be showing at the West Virginia Arts and Crafts Spectacular in Morgantown WV on November 5-7th 2010. 

We're pretty excited.  This will be our very first big arts and crafts show!  I'll do my best to keep you up to date on the projects we're preparing and the special pieces we'll be making for this show. 

We look forward to making new friends and enjoying West Virginia once again.

 

Project Runway 2010 week 2 Simbelmyne

Their challenge this week was much less crazy.

Design a look for a Marie Claire billboard on Times Square!

So a look that's "modern and fashion forward" for work and going out.  High fashion.   But also with enough color and detail that blowing it up to the size of a building will grab attention.

Kerchief style neck ornaments are very much a trend right now.  This necklace mimics the twisting, knotted, asymmetrical look of a scarf. Here are the colors.  The metal elements will be fashioned from sheet, I may add stones, but simply. 

-Simbelmynë

Project Runway 2010, Simbelmyne's first look

The poor souls on Project Runway got a challenge right off the plane-Choose something from your luggage, this will be the foundation of your look.  But wait!  Hand it to the person next to you.

The look of terror on their faces melted my heart.  And maybe it made me laugh.  Nothing's safe on a reality show!

Mina rummaged through her available stuff and pulled out this one:

I'm learning Chasing and Eastern Repoussé this week, naturally the choice of the "Coins and Dangles" necklace was perfect for me!  This piece has always reminded me of belly dancing, with it's coin shaped accent beads, multiple tiers and moving pendant.

I would start with an idea like this one:

The other constraint on the contestants this week was time.  Only 5 hours to create a complete look!  Since I'd want to do some metal work, I wouldn't do a lot of restringing.  Simple jumprings would bring the strands together into more of a collar and the chain would serve to hang the coins.

Coins gives me a chance to try some branding! So on to designing three coins for our belly dancer's piece.  (I'm jealous of Project Runway's tablet PC's.)  I began sketching up a name-themed pendant a while back, tho it didn't go anywhere beyond preliminary design.  But, in my mind, Simbelmynë is very floral.  I like initials in a maker's mark, to identify the artist more clearly. 

Well, something like this. (As you've probably noticed, computers and drawing are not my thing, that might be the class I take in the spring.) 

Mina's design would be more Victorian, perhaps an illuminated "M" with a rose, of course.

Intentional Stones has a script already, fortunately.  So our "IS" would be pretty easy. 

I need to keep it simple, since I don't have a die cutter, but 24 gauge silver  or even thinner and my shears could cut the finished coins out pretty easily. The letters stamped and chased in. 

Lots and lots of the coins.  Maybe even some bells, if Mood would provide!

-Simbelmynë